Thread: Rookie mistakes

Page 19 of 19 FirstFirst ... 9171819
Results 361 to 378 of 378
  1. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2021
    Location
    Bitely, Mi
    Posts
    43
    #361
    We were waiting a crazy long time in the heavy wind for the line at the boat ramp. The lake we were on in Colorado gets really busy sometimes and I’ve never seen slower people loading and unloading boats in my life. Water was wavy and splashing in the boat, sitting so long I didn’t hear the bilge pump stop running. Well it shorted out I noticed the back of the boat was getting really close to the waterline and said shit I’m not waiting anymore and motored up past the line to the ramp right when the bow reach the shore the back of the boat sank. Only the front deck was out of the water. Lesson learned my ears now notice wether that water is pumping out the bilge or not. This was a very scary situation.

  2. Member
    Join Date
    May 2021
    Location
    Senatobia Ms
    Posts
    6
    #362

    jet boat

    1979 jet boat after working it for several weeks two very young guys launch with no issues. Fire the 455 olds up and the top blows off the pump. Neither of us tightened down the nuts on top of the pump. Beach the boat and hit the bilge pumps. Top of pump stayed in the boat flipped the bolts back over and tightened them down. Saved the boat and learned a great lesson, never take top of a jet drive while in the water.

  3. Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2021
    Location
    Crown point, In.
    Posts
    9
    #363
    many years ago in an old 14' fiberglass v-hull my uncle called a 3-sided canoe, chrysler 6hp tiller. hook up trailer, drive to river, load gear into boat, launch boat, park truck, load self and dog into boat, pull stater handle and the rope breaks off in my hand.............
    reverse above procedures and go home

  4. Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Appomattox, VA
    Posts
    44
    #364
    Remembered rods...forgot tackle box.

  5. Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Murray Kentucky
    Posts
    41,218
    #365
    I pitched my buddies keys to him, they hit the side of the boat and landed in 10 feet of water, had to wait one 1/2 hours his wife to bring extra key.

  6. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Coal City Illinois
    Posts
    8,883
    #366
    Forgot to tie bow strap when adjusting trailer position on not deep enough ramp and watched boat slowly fall off trailer into water in rear view mirror with dog on boat. Water temp was 53.
    Fell in lake trying to walk tightrope of trailer toungue.

  7. Electrical/Wiring/Trolling Motors Moderator CatFan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    SW Indiana
    Posts
    26,089
    #367
    Quote Originally Posted by CaymasRodney View Post
    I pitched my buddies keys to him, they hit the side of the boat and landed in 10 feet of water, had to wait one 1/2 hours his wife to bring extra key.
    I know a guy who did that while handing his entire key ring to his partner on the courtesy dock. Truck keys, house keys to multiple houses, work keys etc.. They took turns diving to try to find them for an hour. Finally his wife had to leave work and drive an hour plus to bring the spare truck key. When he told me me about it, I suggested we take my big magnet to try to catch the key ring. Had them in my hand within two minutes of stepping on the dock. His employer spent several hundred dollars re-keying locks.

    I keep keys very close and only exchange them on dry land or down close to the floor of the boat. I’m terrified of dropping them in the lake. Also carry a spare set of boat keys and truck keys in secure place.
    If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
    nothing else matters.​

  8. Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    Southaven, MS
    Posts
    366
    #368
    Only one that I haven't seen on the list. Couldn't get the boat on plane and was running very sluggishly pulling hard to one side. Very rarely do I use an actual anchor since Spotlock came out but knew I would be fishing this grass bed for an hour or so and dropped the anchor in the high winds, but forgot about it after that. Good thing I was in the main river channel so it never snagged on anything.

  9. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Location
    Northern California
    Posts
    212
    #369
    Ok, I want to play. I have a few.

    In the late 70s, my high school buddy was going to teach me to ski in his father's 1960s I/O. Day went fine for hours, then realized the boat had trouble getting on plane. Opened the engine compartment which had 18" of water in it. Ran WOT to the ramp with everyone in the 5 mph zone yelling at us to slow down. Just made it on the trailer before it completely filled with water.

    Fast forward to 1980. Since my 1977 Monte Carlo had a class 2 hitch, I hooked up my other buddy's brand new Ranger 374 for its maiden voyage. Didn't realize that my hitch only had a 1 7/8" ball rather than the required 2" ball. Hit the first hump 2 blocks from his house and the trailer and chains separate from the car. Luckily, his trailer jack did not fold away. I slow down and his boat comes along side of the passenger window doing about 10 mph. He leans out of the window to try to grab his boat and I come to a stop asking him what he was doing. We watched the boat slowly roll to the right sloped curb, angle left and jumped the left curb, brush a small tree and come to a rest in a front yard. Only had one small mark on the rub rail. That Ranger was tough and ran as well on land as it did on water.

    My other buddy bought a new Bayliner bass boat in the late 80s. Took it out to the estuary to fish. I was behind the wheel showing him how to trim the motor to get more speed. Ran WOT at about 45 mph, right past the No Wake zone. Received a ticket for speeding. Motored on, then we hit bottom during low tide. We had to jump out to push the boat. As we touched the sides of the boat, we acted as a ground and were getting shocked while we pushed the boat about 50 yards to deeper water. Of course, we didn't get a single bite after buyingb $50 of bait.

    I had a flat tire on my 15' aluminum boat trailer, twice, both of which, twisted my axle, and both of which happened on Memorial Day weekend. That was the last time I fished on Memorial Day.

    I was fishing by myself in my 22' Ranger. All was fine until mid-day when I lost my tuned, blueprinted, cupped, prop. Used the trolling motor till the battery died. One boat declined to tow me in (I'll find that guy one day). The next guy towed me in and I practically had to force him to take the $100 bill I had.

    Tried to cross under a bridge in current with just my trolling motor. Put a big hole in the fiberglass gunnel.

    I had a new-to-me Ranger 395 with a dual axle trailer since 2001. I have to back it up my 20 degree sloped driveway and make a 90 degree turn into the garage, then push it another 45 degree angle to fit diagonally. A 4000 pound boat with a dual axle trailer doesn't like to be pushed sideways. Getting older, I started using my knees against the trailer tongue to save my back. Well, I tore my meniscus and fractured my tibial plateau 4 years ago. After not boating for 4 years, I sold it and ordered a RT188P with a single axle trailer. I just got the okay from my orthopedic surgeon to take it out after my knee replacement 7 weeks ago. Can't wait to make more stories.

  10. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2021
    Location
    Middleville, MI
    Posts
    23
    #370
    Bought a brand new Z19 last spring - been boating for 15+ years. First trip out with the new boat, I leave the starboard tie down attached. As i'm churning up the ramp area, the group of 10 or so people that are camping right next door are giving me looks. I finally realized what it was and reached down in the water up to my shoulder and was able to release the ratchet. Finally got it off the trailer and everyone starts applauding. Pretty bruised ego that day LOL

  11. Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    Southaven, MS
    Posts
    366
    #371

    Join DateJul 2020LocationSouthaven, MSPosts123

    Big Time Rookie Mistake with Mega Live

    The first part of the day with Mega Live was absolutely frustrating and I couldn't see anything worth the money I spent. I was catching fish right in front of the boat but couldn't see them at all. After being on the lake for a while, I came in to the marina and started pointing the ML toward objects I could see sticking out of the water. UGH..... nothing on the screen that I was pointing at.

    Finally pulled it back out of the water and made sure it was on the "F". It was, but................it was facing toward the trolling motor prop. I assume that happened when I changed the way my trolling motor faces at rest just before installing ML. Immediately, I began to see bait (attached). Hallelujah! I hope this very frustrating experience helps someone.
    Attached Thumbnails


    Last edited by CatCanDoo; 03-19-2022 at 09:47 PM. Reason: Remove duplicate wording

  12. Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Huntsville Al
    Posts
    4,015
    #372
    Come in to fast to the dock and crack your trolling motor head on the dock.

  13. Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    Southaven, MS
    Posts
    366
    #373
    Quote Originally Posted by Eastxn View Post
    Went to lake o' the pines in east Texas with a buddy a few days ago in his new skeeter. He backed his truck down the ramp while I was standing on the dock. Then he got out to undo the winch and handed me the rope he had connected to the boat while he got in and tried to fire it up but the motor wouldn't crank. We spent about 15 minutes cursing before he realized the kill switch wasn't connected.

    We thought yay! lets go fishing. So he took us out and was having fun with his new boat. We eventually pulled up to a spot to start fishing and he turned around and asked "did we forget something?"

    I said "I don't think so"

    Then he turned around again and said "I feel like we forgot something...are you sure we didn't forget anything?" So we started looking around the boat to check things off

    1. Do we have a fire extinguisher and other needed equipment? yes
    2. Do we have our life jackets? yes
    3. Do we have food and drink? yes
    4. Do we have our fishing licenses? yes
    5. Does the boat have plenty of gas? yes
    6. Did he park the truck after launching? OH @#$%!!!

    We headed back to the dock. We had been so focused on getting the motor started that we forgot all about the truck, so we headed off and just left the truck on the ramp with the trailer in the water. There was a line of boats waiting that couldn't launch because his truck was blocking the ramp lol.

    Reading this makes me feel much better about the many things I have done that made the list. This one has got to be one of best/worst.

  14. Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Location
    Greenville, SC
    Posts
    9,982
    #374
    Quote Originally Posted by CatFan View Post
    I know a guy who did that while handing his entire key ring to his partner on the courtesy dock. Truck keys, house keys to multiple houses, work keys etc.. They took turns diving to try to find them for an hour. Finally his wife had to leave work and drive an hour plus to bring the spare truck key. When he told me me about it, I suggested we take my big magnet to try to catch the key ring. Had them in my hand within two minutes of stepping on the dock. His employer spent several hundred dollars re-keying locks.

    I keep keys very close and only exchange them on dry land or down close to the floor of the boat. I’m terrified of dropping them in the lake. Also carry a spare set of boat keys and truck keys in secure place.
    Seen this happen a few times to others and almost happened to me. I took the hint and put a separate vehicle key on a float to use when others are backing me in.

  15. Member
    Join Date
    May 2022
    Location
    Washington DC
    Posts
    2
    #375
    for sure!

  16. Member
    Join Date
    May 2022
    Location
    Washington DC
    Posts
    2
    #376
    I have seen that to, crazy!

  17. Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2021
    Location
    Crown point, In.
    Posts
    9
    #377
    this is embarrassing but here goes, got my first "real" bass boat stratos 284dc with evinrude 175hp, owned jon boats with sub 15hp tillers prior but first boat with tilt/trim. lot's of learning (I thought) before launching the first time, launch goes pretty well for a windy day, no major problems except floating away from the dock trying to tie off alone, never lost the boat, just had trouble dragging it back to the dock with my rope when the wind wanted to blow it out bad. starts right up, putter away from the dock until I'm in 5-6' of water and throttle up, rear end drops like a rock and the bow stand straight up! throttle back down taking the wave over the transom because I let off too quick, check my trim, it's all the way down, so I think anyway. try again, same result, boat won't go forward just stands up. few more tries and say the hell with it, drop the trolling motor and fish within a mile of the dock. few hours later load back up, did decent for being alone and some nice guy at the dock connected my strap since I'm on a roller trailer and the boat wants to roll back off before I can make it to the front and strap it, no real big deal. turns out what I THOUGHT was trimming all the way down was only setting the motor on the trim pistons, i didn't know if you continued down those would retract too leveling the motor I thought they were stops. So as it turns out I'm trying to holeshot with the trim all the way UP! More reading here thinking my motor depth was way off and I found my solution watching some random video about tilt/trim. second launch was successful and even being conservative the boat easily hit 57mph nice and level with more to go. I'm an idiot

  18. Member Hollada's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Lake St Clair, Michigan
    Posts
    2,217
    #378
    Quote Originally Posted by CatCanDoo View Post

    Join DateJul 2020LocationSouthaven, MSPosts123

    Big Time Rookie Mistake with Mega Live

    The first part of the day with Mega Live was absolutely frustrating and I couldn't see anything worth the money I spent. I was catching fish right in front of the boat but couldn't see them at all. After being on the lake for a while, I came in to the marina and started pointing the ML toward objects I could see sticking out of the water. UGH..... nothing on the screen that I was pointing at.

    Finally pulled it back out of the water and made sure it was on the "F". It was, but................it was facing toward the trolling motor prop. I assume that happened when I changed the way my trolling motor faces at rest just before installing ML. Immediately, I began to see bait (attached). Hallelujah! I hope this very frustrating experience helps someone.
    Attached Thumbnails


    One of my first times out with ML I chased a fish that stayed 20 ft away from me for 10 mins. That’s when I pulled up the TM and realized I’d been chasing the skeg of my G2. Flipped the ducer around to the right direction and all was good. LOL.

    Thoroughly enjoy the fact that this post has been running for over 7 years now!
    Last edited by Hollada; 11-09-2022 at 10:22 PM.


    2019 Basscat Caracal
    225 Evinrude G2
    Solix 12 Mega SI bow and console
    Mega Live
    36V Ultrex

Page 19 of 19 FirstFirst ... 9171819